Lincoln BIG were thrilled to organise the first ever GEM Awards for 2023. The awards recognise Lincoln BIG members for high levels of customer service and those who go the extra mile for their customers.

The judging took place anonymously throughout August and September by an independent, specialised company, Storecheckers to ensure all participating businesses were judged fairly and equally.

27 shortlisted businesses and over 150 of their employees gathered to celebrate high levels of customer service and those who go the extra mile for their customers, with the awards ceremony taking place at Home, Lincoln. Guests arrived at the impressive event and were welcomed by the Lincoln BIG team and a range of goodies, provided by local businesses with various drinks and canapes provided.

The winners of the first ever GEM Awards 2023 are:

Health, Beauty, and Wellness - Newland Chiropractic & Neurology Centre

National Retailer - LUSH Cosmetics Lincoln

Independent Retailer - D.A.S Electrical

Food on the Go - Burnetts Sandwich Co

Restaurant - Tortilla

Coffee Shop, Tea Room, and Café - Caffè Portico

Bar, Club, and Late-Night Venue - Lion & Snake

Professional Services - TSB

Experience and Entertainment - Tension Twisted Realities

Take a look at the photo album here. 

The event also welcomed talented Lincoln City Football Club First Team Midfielder, Lasse Sørensen, to the stage to award the few businesses that scored an impressive 100% for their customer service! These businesses included: Lush, Newland Chiropractic & Neurology Centre and Burnetts Sandwich Co.

Lincoln BIG’s Relationship and Operations Manager, Danielle, spoke about the evening saying:

“This was truly a delightful event celebrating the brilliant businesses and their hard work across various sectors within the city. The evening was a great opportunity to honour the best of customer service in Lincoln, shining a spotlight on the organisations that help make the city centre a memorable and friendly place to live and visit.”

“We were really impressed with the feedback received by Storecheckers. It’s brilliant to see the wealth of excellent customer service and dedication amongst the businesses in our city. The GEM Awards are a fantastic way to showcase those organisations that go the extra mile to make a difference in the lives of visitors, workers and locals in the city centre.”

Lee Roberts, Head of Operations at Lincoln BIG added:

“We look forward to seeing these awards grow each year and continuing to champion our members and celebrate local businesses of all sectors. Everyone is encouraged to keep an eye out for when the GEM Awards 2024 nominations open, as we start planning the next Awards night, which is promising to be even bigger and better!”

Lincoln BIG would like to thank all the businesses that took part and helped make the night an unforgettable success including Home for hosting and Place Immersive for capturing the celebrations through video production, graphics and photography.

Lincoln BIG are thrilled to announce that the GEM Awards 2024 was a huge success!

Back by popular demand, we went even bigger than last year to provide our nominees with a night to remember. 

All our nominees and winners have been judged by an independent, specialised company, Proinsight to ensure all participating businesses are judged fairly and equally.

I'm sure you will join us in congratulating our 2024 GEM Award Winners:

Accommodation  - The Rest

Bar, Pub & Club - Vice & Co

Experience & Entertainment - Akedo Experience

Health, Wellness & Beauty -Sincil Salon

Independent Retailer - The Cheese Society

Professional Services - Pepperell’s Solicitors

Restaurant - ASK

Cafe - Vestry Hall

National Retailer - The Body Shop

Lincoln BIG are so proud to work with our fabulous local businesses and our award ceremony is all about celebrating and recognising all your hard work and efforts that go on behind the scenes of your establishments. 

A huge well done to all of our 2024 nominees:

Accommodation

The Tower Hotel

The Lincoln Hotel

Bar, Pub & Club

Lincoln Jazz Café

Tap & Tonic

Experience & Entertainment

Glory Holes

New Theatre Royal

Health, Wellness & Beauty

Beauty by Leah

Acutis Opticians

Independent Retailer

Coneys

Steep Hill Wines

Professional Services

Halifax

Mundys Sales

Restaurant

Tortilla

Samba Brazil

Cafe

200 Degrees

Stokes High Bridge

National Retailer

Joules

Three

Thank you to all our guests for making it such a great evening, and to all the businesses in our BID area it is a pleasure working with you and delivering our plans for you all.

We'll see you next year!

The spotlight shone brightly on Lincoln’s business , as the 2025 GEM Awards recognised the city’s most outstanding establishments in customer service and community contribution. Hosted by Lincoln BIG, the award evening honoured winners across ten categories, showcasing those who consistently go the extra mile for customers and the city as a whole. For 2025 we had 10 award categories after taking on board feedback from last year. 

Winners Reflect Customer Service Excellence
After a rigorous period of independent mystery shopping and evaluation conducted by Proinsights, the winners were selected for their exceptional performance in customer care, responsiveness, consistency, and overall service quality. The 2025 winners are:

• Accommodation — Holiday Inn
• Bar, Pub & Club — Lincoln Jazz Café
• Café — 200 Degrees
• Experience & Entertainment — Virtually Golf
• Health, Wellness & Beauty — Bodystreet
• Independent Restaurant — The Pale
• Independent Retailer — Jailhouse Frock
• National Restaurant — Turtle Bay
• National Retailer — Lush
• Professional Services — Barclays

Each winner stood out not only for their physical offering but for creating a warm, dependable, and customer-first experience, from greeting guests to managing challenges behind the scenes.

Find all the pictures from the award ceremony here.